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Ed Chadwick Passes Away At Age 90

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In a somber announcement from the Toronto Maple Leafs, former goaltender Ed Chadwick has passed away at the age of 90. Chadwick is most famous for playing in 140 consecutive regular season games for the Maple Leafs, starting in all 70 games in each of the 1956-57 and 1957-58 seasons.

Chadwick originally started his professional career with Toronto as a backup for Harry Lumley. After Lumley was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks and subsequently sent down to the minor leagues, Chadwick became the full-time starter for the Maple Leafs over the next two years.

Unfortunately, Toronto did not qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs in either year with Chadwick between the pipes, and would later lose his position as the team’s top netminder after the organization acquired goaltender Johnny Bower in the Inter-League Draft. After ceding the net fully to Bower ahead of the 1959-60 NHL season, Chadwick would only play four more games for the Maple Leafs before being demoted to the Rochester Americans.

His playing career was not finished, however, as Chadwick was traded to the Boston Bruins ahead of the 1961-62 season and managed four games with his new organization. When everything was all said and done, Chadwick finished with a 57-92-35 record over 184 games played, earning a career .901 save percentage and a 2.94 goals-against average.

Although he was not able to capture the Stanley Cup during his playing career, Chadwick has five Stanley Cup rings to his name, earning them all as a scout with the Edmonton Oilers in the mid-to-late 1980s. In fact, Chadwick has had his name engraved on the Stanley Cup a total of three times as a member of the Oilers organization, coming in 1985, 1987, and 1990.

Like many improbable records from the Original Six era, Chadwick’s record of 140 consecutive games with the Maple Leafs as a goaltender will likely stand the test of time. PHR sends its condolences to Chadwick’s family and friends, as well as to the Toronto Maple Leafs organization.

Washington Capitals Recall Hardy Häman Aktell

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With defensemen Nick Jensen and Rasmus Sandin still out of the lineup for Game 2, the Washington Capitals were put in a position to recall some depth from their AHL affiliate, the Hershey Bears. According to a team announcement, the Capitals recalled defenseman Hardy Häman Aktell earlier today, and he was with the team for practice.

Even after the recall, it is more than unlikely that he will play this evening against the New York Rangers, as all signs indicate defenseman Lucas Johansen will enter the lineup instead. Johansen, who only has Calder Cup playoff experience under his belt, suited up in six games for the Capitals this season, tallying one assist in total.

If there are any more injuries to the blue line, Washington may find themselves in a precarious enough position to require Aktell to make his postseason debut with the team in his first year playing for the organization. Even though Aktell was drafted with the 108th overall pick by the Nashville Predators in the 2016 NHL Draft, he decided to play professional hockey in his native Sweden before signing an entry-level deal with the Capitals towards the end of last summer.

Aktell’s first season in North America has been decent but he has seen his scoring drop precipitously compared to his last season in the SHL. Over 55 games spent with the Bears this year, Aktell scored two goals and 11 points in total, sitting sixth on the team in scoring amongst defensemen. In early October, Aktell made his NHL debut, scoring one assist in six games for the Capitals.

Thatcher Demko To Miss Game 2, Potentially Out For Series

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In a report coming from Frank Seravalli of The Daily Faceoff, Vancouver Canucks’ starting goaltender Thatcher Demko is set to miss Game 2 of the team’s First Round series against the Nashville Predators, and could potentially miss the rest of the series. For tonight’s game and possibly further, the Canucks will rely on Casey DeSmith and Arturs Silovs in the crease.

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman quickly confirmed Seravalli’s report and indicated that Demko is out with an injury. Without any specifics to the injury, it could potentially be a re-aggravation of the lower-body injury that kept Demko out of Vancouver’s lineup from March 9th to April 16th.

In Demko’s absence towards the last month of the regular season, the Canucks produced a 7-5-2 record, earning a 2.86 goals against average and a .884 save percentage. In Sunday night’s game against the Predators, Demko played in all 60 minutes of game one, saving 20 of 22 shots on goal.

Now that DeSmith is the likely starter heading into Game 2, Vancouver will deploy a goalie that produced a 12-9-6 record this season over 27 starts, securing a 2.89 GAA and a .895 SV%. Much like Demko, DeSmith has limited playoff experience, as his only postseason appearance came two years ago with the Pittsburgh Penguins, earning an overtime win against the New York Rangers after stopping 48 of 51 shots.

Heading into the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs, the Canucks had the second-highest odds of being the last team left standing according to MoneyPuck. Unfortunately, without one of the top goaltenders in the league between the pipes, Vancouver’s odds have certainly lowered.

In a positive outlook for the Canucks, recent history is on their side, as both Conference Champions from last year’s playoffs started the postseason with different goalies than they started with, while the Colorado Avalanche had to utilize then-backup goalie Pavel Francouz in their pursuit of the 2022 Stanley Cup Finals. If the Canucks have any hopes of making a deep playoff run this postseason, the team in front will have their work cut out for them moving forward.

Columbus Blue Jackets Sign Luca Pinelli To Entry-Level Contract

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As they look towards the future with another disappointing season in the rearview mirror, the Columbus Blue Jackets have signed one of their prospects coming out of the Ontario Hockey League. In a team announcement, the Blue Jackets have signed forward Luca Pinelli to a three-year, entry-level contract beginning in the 2024-25 NHL season.

Spending the last three years with the Ottawa 67’s, Pinelli was drafted 114th overall by Columbus in the 2023 NHL Draft. A bit undersized, Pinelli is known as a workhorse on both sides of the puck, regularly leaving everything out on the ice. Throughout his time in the OHL, Pinelli developed his skills as an exceptional reactionary player, thoroughly scanning and adapting to the play at a moment’s notice.

He continued to improve offensively during his time in major juniors, scoring 91 goals and 181 points over 194 games with the 67’s since the start of the 2021-22 OHL season. Of his career totals, Pinelli more than doubled this past year, scoring 48 goals and 82 points through 68 games as Ottawa’s captain.

Unfortunately, the 67’s were unable to reach beyond the second round of the OHL Playoffs during his tenure in Canada’s capital, but it was through no fault of his own. In three years, Pinelli was able to suit up in 25 postseason games for the 67’s, scoring 14 goals and 29 points in total.

Now transitioning to the Blue Jackets organization, Pinelli should start next season in the American Hockey League for the Cleveland Monsters, unless he completely forces Columbus’ hand during training camp. Even though size is no longer a major determinant to making it to the NHL, Pinelli should still take some time to build up his body to be a sustainable presence in the lineup.

Bruins Recall Mason Lohrei With Andrew Peeke Out

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The Boston Bruins have recalled rookie defenseman Mason Lohrei from the Providence Bruins (Twitter link). This move comes after head coach Jim Montgomery designated defender Andrew Peeke as week-to-week with an undisclosed injury suffered in Game Two, shares Joe Haggerty of the Boston Sports Journal (Twitter link). Peeke left Game Two with seven minutes left in the second period after blocking a Tyler Bertuzzi shot with his left hand. Peeke isn’t expected to travel with the team when they head to Toronto for Game Three and Four.

Despite Lohrei’s recall, it’s Parker Wotherspoon who is expected to gain a role in Peeke’s absence. Wotherspoon played in half of Boston’s games this season, recording eight assists and 31 points. The matches brought his career totals to nine assists in 53 career games, though the 26-year-old defender is still searching for his first goal. He’ll be stepping into his first career Stanley Cup Playoff game if he does fill in for Peeke.

Lohrei will instead provide exciting depth for Boston, having scored four goals and 13 points in the first 41 games of his NHL career this season. He added 16 points in 21 AHL games. The flashy 23-year-old is off to a hot start in his first full year of professional hockey and even got a glimpse of pro playoffs when he appeared in three Calder Cup Playoff games last season. He’ll join Wotherspoon and Derek Forbort as Boston’s extra defenders, with the latter being recalled from a conditioning stint yesterday. Forbort has the most experience of the trio, having played in 496 regular-season games and 32 playoff games across his nine-year NHL career.

The trio will compete for Peeke’s third-pair role on the blue line. The Trade Deadline acquisition played in 17 minutes of ice time in Game One but was limited to just 10 minutes in Game Two as a result of his injury. He’s playing in the first Stanley Cup Playoff games of his career as well, still searching for his first postseason point. Peeke had a strong stint in Boston’s last 15 games of the season, where he looked entirely the part of the stout defender Boston wanted at the Deadline. The Bruins will have a few options to replace him over the next two games, though making the wrong decision could prove costly against a daunting Maple Leafs offense.

Devils’ Timo Meier To Undergo Arthroscopic Shoulder Surgery

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The injury woes don’t end just because the season did, something New Jersey Devils winger Timo Meier has found out after opting to undergo an elective arthroscopic surgery on his shoulder. The procedure will take place today, performed by Dr. Jonathan L. Glashow and Dr. Guillem Gonzalez-Lomas, the Devils’ chief medical officer and team orthopedic surgeon. Meier is expected to make a full recovery before the team’s 2024 training camp. This procedure will hold Meier out of the World Championship, as confirmed by Switzerland’s national team (Twitter link).

Meier appeared in 69 games this season, missing time to double MCL injuries in November and an oblique injury in January. He didn’t miss a game after returning to the lineup on January 17th, working towards 28 goals and 52 points on the season. While admirable scoring, the year marked Meier’s lowest-scoring pace of the last three seasons. That could be a result of playing through a shoulder injury, though the extent of his injury hasn’t been confirmed.

Arthroscopic surgery has grown in practice over recent years, with Alex Killorn and Vladimir Tarasenko undergoing similar surgeries on their knees over the last five years. The last shoulder surgery of this kind came in 2019 when Erik Johnson went under the knife following Colorado’s exit in the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Dany Heatley also underwent the surgery in 2013, holding him out of the end of the 2012-13 season. The procedure is meant to be preventative and minimally invasive, with the goal of identifying joint-related issues or small tears.

While he played in a majority of New Jersey’s games and put up impressive scoring, there’s no doubt that Meier will be happy to move on from an injury-plagued 2023-24 season. He’ll spend the summer fully focused on rehabbing his injuries, eyeing a productive return to a New Jersey offense that could be commanded by a new head coach – with interim Travis Green not yet awarded the full-time role.

Jakub Voráček Announces Retirement From Playing Career

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Long-time Philadelphia Flyers winger Jakub Voráček has announced his retirement from playing in an exclusive March interview with Martina Jandová of Czechia’s Showtime Program. The 1,000-game veteran cited 12 concussions as the reason he can no longer play, describing four of the injuries as, “heavy”. This announcement brings an official end to Voracek’s career, something many speculated would happen after he accepted a job supporting Jaromir Jagr’s Kladno at the start of the season. Voráček said, “I started helping with the A team. [Jagr] called me in September to ask if I could help. So I decided to try it part-time. I enjoy it a lot. We’ll see what happens in the future, but I can’t go on the ice anymore.”

Voráček will retire as a member of the Arizona Coyotes despite never suiting up with the team. His rights were traded away from the Columbus Blue Jackets at last year’s Trade Deadline, with Columbus receiving Jon Gillies in return for the cap dump. Columbus drafted Voráček with the seventh-overall pick in the 2007 NHL Draft, taking him in a top 10 that also featured Patrick Kane, James van Riemsdyk, and Logan Couture. Voráček played one more season in the QMJHL – the league he was drafted out of – before debuting with the Blue Jackets in the 2008-09 season. His rookie year brought just nine goals, but still a solid 38 points, in 80 games.

Voráček was the focal piece of the 2011 blockbuster trade that sent a then 27-year-old Jeff Carter to Columbus for a 21-year-old Voráček and the draft picks used to select Sean Couturier and Nick Cousins. It was in Philadelphia that Voráček built his legacy, recording six separate 20-goal seasons and consistently rivaling 50 or 60 points. His career-year came in 2017-18, when he managed 20 goals and 85 points in just 82 games.

Columbus would re-acquire Voráček in 2021, sending Cam Atkinson to Philadelphia. Voráček would play in 90 more games with the Blue Jackets, scoring 68 points, before his career came to a close midway through the 2022-23 season. Voráček totaled 1,058 games in the NHL, netting 223 goals and 806 points. He remains the third-highest scoring Czech player in NHL history, behind just Jagr and Patrik Elias.

Flyers Sign Ivan Fedotov To Two-Year Extension

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The Philadelphia Flyers have signed goaltender Ivan Fedotov to a two-year, $6.5MM contract extension, per Anthony Di Marco of the Fourth Period (Twitter link) and confirmed by The Athletic’s Charlie O’Connor (Twitter link). Di Marco adds that the rough outline of this contract was agreed upon before Fedotov came to America, and that the player wanted more term but Philadelphia stood strong at two years. This extension comes three games into Fedotov’s NHL career.

Philadelphia drafted Fedotov in the seventh round of the 2015 NHL Draft but didn’t try to bring him overseas until 2022. They signed him to a one-year contract, with the hopes of removing him from a country gearing up for conflict. But Fedotov was arrested before he could leave for the United States, and required to serve in the Russian military for one calendar year. The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz reported that this service came on an aircraft carrier in the Murmansk region, far from the front lines. The military service kept Fedotov from playing any hockey during the 2022-23 season. He was, reportedly, pressured into a two-year contract with CSKA Moscow ahead of this past season – a deal that both the NHL and IIHF deemed invalid. Fedotov served one year of the contract before it was terminated by CSKA, opening the door for him to finally move to America.

In landing Fedotov, the Flyers were landing one of Russia’s top goaltenders. He did not record a single season of a save percentage below .910, across six seasons and 133 games in the league. His official career stats are 61 wins and a .921 save percentage – adding 18 wins and a .930 in 31 playoff games. Those are incredibly impressive numbers, though Fedotov didn’t translate them to the NHL as quickly as Philadelphia may have hoped. He saved just 43 of 53 shots through his first three NHL games, setting a .811 save percentage and still looking for his first win. Fedotov became the tallest active goalie in the NHL when he debuted, tying Mikko Koskinen and Ben Bishop as the tallest of all-time. That fact, and his history of success in Russia, were enough to earn Fedotov a confident extension from the Flyers. He now becomes the team’s second-highest-paid goalie, behind $5MM man Calvin Petersen, and will look to earn his first win and the starter’s net in his first full NHL season next year.

Evening Notes: Karlsson, Granlund, Bratt

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Dave Molinari of Pittsburgh Hockey Now is reporting that Pittsburgh Penguins star defenseman Erik Karlsson will play for Sweden in the IIHF World Championship in Czechia. The tournament, which goes from May 10th – May 26th will extend the 33-year-old’s season after the Penguins were eliminated from playoff contention six days ago.

Karlsson had a disappointing first season in Pittsburgh but played very well down the stretch which coincided with Pittsburgh’s final push to try and make the playoffs. Although they ultimately fell short of securing a playoff spot, the Penguins’ late run gives reason for optimism as Karlsson finally seemed to find his offensive rhythm with the team posting three goals and seven assists in the final eight games of the regular season.

In other evening notes:

  • San Jose Sharks forward Mikael Granlund will reportedly play for Team Finland at the World Championship (via Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now). The 32-year-old was a salary dump when he was traded as part of the Erik Karlsson move to Pittsburgh last summer but had a bounce-back season with the Sharks tallying 12 goals and 48 assists in 69 games. While his possession numbers continued to be poor, he demonstrated strong work on the Sharks’ powerplay posting a goal and 22 assists with the man advantage. Granlund looked like a buyout candidate last year, but with one year left on his contract at $5MM, he could potentially fetch the Sharks an asset at next year’s trade deadline if they don’t move him this summer.
  • James Nichols of New Jersey Hockey Now is reporting that New Jersey Devils forward Jesper Bratt turned down Sweden’s invitation for him to play at the World Championships due to injury. The 25-year-old dressed in all 82 games for the Devils this season and had a career year posting 27 goals and 56 assists. Despite the ailment, it is not expected that Bratt will miss an extended period, which is good news for New Jersey as he enters the second year of his eight-year $63MM contract.

West Notes: Kraken, Barron, Girard

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Seattle Kraken general manager Ron Francis told reporters today (via Sound of Hockey) that he intends to start talking with restricted free agents Matty Beniers and Eeli Tolvanen and fully expects that the sides will be able to come to agreements. Beniers is the reigning Calder Trophy winner but suffered a dramatic drop in his offensive production, posting just 15 goals and 22 assists in 77 games after posting 57 points in 81 games last season. While his play dropped off this season, he should still receive a sizeable raise on his $897,500 cap hit. Tolvanen was acquired off waivers by the Kraken back in December 2022 and developed into a solid depth scorer posting 16 goals and 25 assists in 81 games this season. He is also due a raise on his $1.45MM cap hit.

Francis added that the Kraken will have to decide whether or not to qualify forward Kailer Yamamoto, who suffered through another difficult offensive season posting just eight goals and eight assists in 59 games. While a $1.5MM qualifying offer seems steep for a player who tallied just 16 points this season, Yamamoto’s age and previous production could be enough to entice Francis to roll the dice one more time and qualify the 25-year-old.

In other Western Conference notes:

  • Winnipeg Jets color analyst Mitchell Clinton is reporting that forward Morgan Barron has yet to begin skating as he deals with a lower-body injury and will be out of the lineup for at least another week. The 25-year-old reportedly suffered the injury in the Jets second-last game of the regular season back on April 16th and it will likely keep him out of the first four games of their series against the Colorado Avalanche. The Halifax, Nova Scotia native just completed his fourth NHL season and set career highs in games played with 80 and goals with 11. He posted 122 hits while averaging 10:30 of ice time per game.
  • Meghan Angley of DNVR Avalanche tweeted that Colorado Avalanche defenseman Samuel Girard was a full participant in practice today, but Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar would not confirm his availability for Game 2 tomorrow. The 25-year-old hasn’t played in over a week and skated for just 3:26 in a 7-0 loss to the Jets on April 13th. In his last 28 games, the native of Roberval, Quebec has just three assists.

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